Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) reiterated the commitment to Bosnia's EU perspective “as a single, united and sovereign country,” and called for government formation at all levels so that authorities can proceed with work without any further delay, said the EU Council's conclusions passed on Monday.

“Taking into account that since last year’s general elections, governments have not yet been formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina on State and Federation levels, the Council renews its call on Bosnia and Herzegovina to proceed with government formation and start work without any further delay, in the interest of all citizens,” said the Council, adding that effective implementation of reforms is necessary for Bosnia to advance on its EU path.

The new call for the government formation comes a year after the general elections in Bosnia, after witch the country’s political leaders were unable to form the institutions due to deeply divided stances on the country’s NATO integration.

Despite a deal on the government formation that the leaders of election winner parties reached in August this year, relations with NATO i.e. a document called the Annual National Programme, which is considered a step closer in the relations with the alliance, is still a stumbling stone to proceed with the appointment of the Council of Ministers.

The lack of the government, consequently, blocks the reforms and progress towards the EU membership, which all political options in the country support.

The EU FMs also welcomed the continued presence of the EUFOR Althea Operation in Bosnia and confirmed the EU’s readiness to continue the executive mandate of the Operation – to support Bosnia’s authorities to maintain the safe and secure environment under a renewed UN mandate.

The Council also recognised the importance of continued coordination of EUFOR Althea – EU’s military deployment in charge of overseeing the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement, a peace treaty which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war – with other international actors on the ground.